THE Liberal Democrats picked up another seat in the south of the town in a by-election win on Thursday.

Anna Fradgley, with 769 votes, won ahead of Tory Stephen Taylor, with 649 votes.

Trish Cockayne was third for Labour, James Ashington came fourth for UKIP and Michael Wass finished last for the Greens.

The by-election was caused following the death of former Mayor Shelia Woodyatt earlier this year.

Cllr Fradgley admitted she was 'overwhelmed' and 'amazed' by the result.

She said: "We will definitely be trying to maintain the green belt and protect it as much as we can until the local plan has been adopted and continue with the neighbourhood plan.

"Also, we really need to look at the environment around Lymm and particularly around youth provision.

"The list is endless but we will still keep going with it."

Cllr Bob Barr, leader of the town's Liberal Democrats, added: "I am very proud to have not just another councillor, but an outstanding new councillor.

"All of our councillors are very good but Anna has already established herself prior to being elected, so I am delighted to have her in our group."

Despite a disappointing night for UKIP, Ian Wilson, chairman of the party's Warrington branch, believes there is hope ahead.

He also confirmed UKIP Warrington is confident of fielding a number of candidates at the local elections in 2020.

He said: "We are disappointed by the result but we know we have got to work harder – there's a lot more campaigning to do.

"We have thankfully got a lot more stability in the party now, so we are still optimistic for the future.

"With all the turmoil that we have had over the past few months, fingers crossed, I think we still have a future.

"I think we will be a force in the future as well."

Full results:

James Ashington (UKIP) 25

Trish Cockayne (LAB) 328

Anna Fradgley (LD) 769

Stephen Taylor (CON) 649

Michael Wass (GREENS) 24

Turnout: 35.7 per cent

The result leaves the Liberal Democrats with 12 seats on Warrington Borough Council, Labour with 45 and the Conservatives with one.